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chrysemys 's review for:
Independent People
by Halldór Laxness
Independent People is a different kind of book but I'd be hard pressed to put my finger on exactly why. The voice certainly plays a part--it's delightful. This book was published in 1934 and for most of the book, it is difficult for a non-Nordic reader to pinpoint the time in which it is set, Iceland being a sort of behind-the-times backwater. (Book 4 reveals its precise date, however, and the reader can extrapolate back from there.)
So... there's a lot of discussion of sheep and the parasites thereof in this book. Lots of rants about cows and debt. Politics. All of these things become tiresome. The protagonist, Bjartur, is obstinately, dickishly ignorant (as well as just being a dick) and can be difficult to stand at times. But he can also be unintentionally hilarious.
Laxness tells the story of Bjartur and the the story of Iceland... of course there are parallels. I can see how the Nobel committee would have been enamored of this kind of story, especially in the mid-20th.
Independent People feels like the kind of literature that is fed to high school students, all history and symbolism and whatnot. But I can't imagine it is part of any American curriculum--Iceland is too obscure to be included in mainstream European lit and too European to be part of look-we're-being-inclusive lit. Too bad, I think it should be more widely read.
So... there's a lot of discussion of sheep and the parasites thereof in this book. Lots of rants about cows and debt. Politics. All of these things become tiresome. The protagonist, Bjartur, is obstinately, dickishly ignorant (as well as just being a dick) and can be difficult to stand at times. But he can also be unintentionally hilarious.
Laxness tells the story of Bjartur and the the story of Iceland... of course there are parallels. I can see how the Nobel committee would have been enamored of this kind of story, especially in the mid-20th.
Independent People feels like the kind of literature that is fed to high school students, all history and symbolism and whatnot. But I can't imagine it is part of any American curriculum--Iceland is too obscure to be included in mainstream European lit and too European to be part of look-we're-being-inclusive lit. Too bad, I think it should be more widely read.